—Place the flower that they gave to that woman on my shelves— the beautiful woman said proudly, looking at Bianca with jealousy.

Franco saw Bianca with the flower in her hair, and Bianca saw the curious eyes of Franco, wondering what the bookshelf had hidden inside.

Aquiles didn't want his students to fight in the middle of the aisle. Even though this aisle was rarely frequented, it was still in a main hexagon, and the professor would look bad if someone noticed he couldn't control his students.

Therefore, Aquiles ended up helping Franco, convincing Bianca to give up her flower, reminding her that this was a special kind of class, and everyone had to collaborate.

With a triumphant smile, Franco handed the flower to the bookshelf and took one of its books. But as he flipped through the pages, Franco noticed that the book was nothing special.

—Bad luck...— Aquiles said, observing the disappointed expression on the boy's face—Next time, remember to ask what happens if you fail. Even though, in this case, we already knew, try not to be so impatient. Even if the task given by the bookshelf seems simple, the consequences can be terrible if you fail.

Aquiles saw how the other two children took notes on what he said and continued with a somewhat concerned tone:

—It's your turn, Adam, but don't use the same bookshelf as Franco.

Adam nodded, went to the third bookshelf without dust, and asked enthusiastically:

—What are your rules?

Immediately, the face of another beautiful girl formed on the white wooden bookshelf, but this one seemed younger, with short hair and star-shaped freckles on her face. The girl looked Adam up and down and said without much emotion:

—My rules are the same as my sister's. What decision do you make?

Upon hearing that the rules were the same as Franco's, Adam was about to proceed, but he was interrupted by Aquiles.

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—No, no, and no...— the professor said nervously. —It would be too easy... much too easy. Let's try the handsome boy's test.

—You're a coward, and cowards won't touch my books!— the prince shouted angrily when Adam tried to approach.

—Well, let's try the dusty one...— Aquiles said irritably—But remember what you've been learning and ask everything.

With some caution, Adam ignored the prince and approached the dusty bookshelf. He immediately asked:

—What are your rules?

A head started to form on the white wooden bookshelf. The head looked like that of an old man, and unlike the other three bookshelves, this one was not handsome at all. Moreover, the old man had no decoration on his face and appeared quite worn-out.

The old man looked attentively at Adam and said wearily:

—Tell me who I am, and I'll let you read my books; answer wrongly, and you'll clean the other three bookshelves.

—He anticipated the other question— Aquiles said ironically. It seemed like the professor already remembered this old man's answer —Think about it, Adam. The bookshelves always give clues.

—Is there any clue?— Adam asked literally, not understanding what his teacher meant.

—I already gave you the clue... Try to remember my rules...— the old man replied with much patience.

Adam thought and thought, but he couldn't come up with an answer, so he asked:

—And for the good guys? Are there extra clues?

The old man looked at Adam annoyed and pondered for a while before reluctantly adding:

—The decorations on the bookshelves always mean something.

Adam paid attention to the decorations on the four bookshelves and noticed that the old man had no accessories, while the other three bookshelves seemed to have them; if you considered star-shaped freckles as accessories.

After noticing that detail, Adam answered without hesitation:

—You're the servant!

—No— the old man replied dryly, then vanished again into the white wooden planks.

—The correct answer was that he was the father— Aquiles said from behind, pulling out some rags he had brought for the occasion—Help Adam clean the four bookshelves. Tomorrow, you can take the day off, contemplating why it was the father and not the servant.

The three children nodded and began to clean the bookshelves.

In the end, Aquiles ended up being the one who cleaned the bookshelves, while the children played, splashing water at each other. That was the beauty of being young and not understanding the emotional story told by these four bookshelves.

Only now, as an adult, Aquiles managed to understand the story. Unfortunately, the story left a big question in his heart, especially being a teacher with so few students, recalling that when he was a student, there were more in the class.

Perhaps that story was the most valuable secret of these bookshelves, because as he finished cleaning and the children went home, Achilles decided to wait a while longer and saw how the bookshelf that belonged to the father was filled with dust again.